International court prosecutor seeks Sudan president’s arrest (Lead)

Xinhua Brussels, July 14 (Xinhua) The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Monday sought the arrest of Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir, charging him with war crimes, including genocide, in Darfur. ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo told the court there were reasonable grounds to believe that al-Bashir bears criminal responsibility in relation to 10 counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

A pre-trial chamber would now review the evidence provided by the prosecutor to decide whether to pursue the case and how to bring al-Bashir to court.

The prosecutor requested an arrest warrant.

It was the first time that the Hague-based ICC was asked to charge a sitting head of state, a move decried by Khartoum as undermining peace efforts in the region. Xinhua